As I sit here listening to my doggies pant from the heat, I started to think about water and how much we need to drink of it.
We have all heard that we should drink 8 – 8oz glasses of water per day. This is a good guideline. But an even more accurate number is to take your body weight and divide it in half. This is the amount of water you should be getting every day for normal daily activities.
Factor in a workout and you need more. Figure that you will need 2-3 additional 8oz glasses of water per day if you are working out.
To check if you are dehydrated from your workout do this:
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Weigh yourself without your clothes on before your workout
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Weigh yourself right after your workout with your clothes off
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If you have more than a 2% shift in body weight from your starting body weight – then start drinking water!
Factor in the heat and you need more water. Factor in heat and working out and you need yet more water. A good rule of thumb is to drink before you get thirsty. Once you are thirsty, you are on your way to getting dehydrated.
Two other good tips are to:
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Drink cold water. Your body has to burn calories to bring the temperature of the water down to your bodies temperature. Drink cold water = burn more calories!
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Drink water with lemon in the morning. Lemons will reduce your bodies acidity and since lemons are alkaline it counters the acid in the body. Bodies with less acid are healthier bodies. Drinking a glass of water with lemon has also shown to reduce coffee cravings and possibly give you a bigger boost than the caffeine does. I’m not so sure about this one! Haven’t felt it yet!
Lastly, lets address one other way to tell if you are hydrated or dehydrated. Your pee!
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No color or transparent – You are drinking a lot of water! You may want to cut back. There is such a thing as being overly hydrated.
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Pale straw colored urine or transparent yellow urine – You are normal, healthy and well hydrated.
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Dark yellow – Normal but you should think about having a glass of water soon.
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Dark Amber color – You are not getting enough water. Drink some water now!
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Syrup color or Brown Ale color – You could have a liver disease or severe dehydration. Drink water and see your doctor!
Hope this helps! Happy Hydrating!
Photo courtesy : Pinterest